Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
5,667 acres16 mi of trail
ManitouRolling HillsTall PinesWild Turkey+1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Gerrish Township
Gerrish Township has 837 acres of parks, 297 for every 1,000 residents
24 miles of mapped trail cross Gerrish Township, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit (16 mi), South Higgins Lake State Park (1.1 mi). 9% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns · #315 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
836 acres · of 27.6 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
837 ac
297 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.7 mi
1.7 mi paths
Highest peak
1,339 ft
Pioneer Ski Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
2 beaches · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Gerrish Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gerrish Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gerrish Township is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #315 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gerrish Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land297 acres of park per 1,000 residents (837 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home9% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 67%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 55%
Water is 26% of Gerrish Township’s area (10 of 37 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit, with 16 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
South Higgins Lake State Park
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
716 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Higgins Lake Boat LaunchWebsite ↗
Gerrish Municipal Park
Managed by Gerrish Township
39 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Gerrish Township Community Park
Managed by Gerrish Township
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit5,667 acres · 16 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
South Higgins Lake State Park716 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsGerrish Municipal Park39 acres · Gerrish Township
DirectionsGerrish Township Community Park6 acres · Gerrish Township
Gerrish Township Park1 acres · Gerrish Township
DirectionsKelly Beach1 acres · Roscommon County Road Commission
Who protects it
836 conserved acres
5% of Gerrish Township’s land. Water is left out: Gerrish Township has 27.6 square miles of land and 9.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Gerrish Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land723 ac
Private owners113 ac
State Park · 723 acPrivate Park · 113 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Higgins Lake State Park State Park | Other state land | 723 | Open |
| Honest Abe Hunt Club Private Park | Private owners | 78 | Open |
| Wolfe Chance Conservation Club Private Park | Private owners | 35 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Gerrish Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Gerrish Township
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Gerrish Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Gerrish Township
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Gerrish Township
West Higgins Lake Drive Road End Access
DirectionsPeaks in Gerrish Township
Pioneer Ski Hill1,339 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Gerrish Township
Great Circle Campground
DirectionsNorthern Nights Family Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
12 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 0.5 miUnpaved · 7.2 mi
Manitou2.0 mi
Rolling Hills1.7 mi
Tall Pines1.1 mi
Wild Turkey0.9 mi
Camp Trail0.7 mi
Adventure0.7 mi
Blizzard0.6 mi
Trapper's Cabin0.6 mi
Horse Track0.5 mi
Main Track0.3 mi
2 more trails
Birch Road West
0.3 miMackinac Cut
0.2 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Soccer
2Basketball
2Tennis
2Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Gerrish Township: May and July to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Gerrish Township →
Next door
Gerrish Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Beaver Creek Township198 miHiggins Township130 miLyon Township93 miGerrish Township24 miMarkey Township16 miLake Township9.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerrish Township | 5% | 0.9 | 297 | 9% | B+ |
| Lyon Township | 20% | 3.1 | 3,051 | 22% | A |
| Markey Township | 9% | 0.5 | 533 | 57% | A− |
| Higgins Township | 15% | 1.8 | 3,731 | 75% | A+ |
| Beaver Creek Township | 3% | 2.8 | 330 | 10% | B+ |
| Lake Township | 32% | 0.4 | 3,982 | 68% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gerrish Township
Where can I hike in Gerrish Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit, 16 miles; South Higgins Lake State Park, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gerrish Township is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 5% for a Michigan town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Gerrish Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit and South Higgins Lake State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gerrish Township?
1.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gerrish Township?
75,458 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gerrish Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 837 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gerrish Township have?
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #315 of 701 in Michigan. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Gerrish Township neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →